Before Our True Lives
by Bambi18
Summary: What happened before "Danger Days", how the Killjoys became Killjoys, etc. Party Poison's point of view. Based on concept album "Danger Days: The True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys" by My Chemical Romance. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

There was a drought on, again, which meant, obviously, no hosepipes or anything. Water was allowed at certain times of the day, and if a household went over a certain limit in a day they were cut off for the remainder of that day. Even though I was walking home in the dark, there was still a dryness, a heat, in the air which made it felt like it was midday. The darkness was good, though - nobody paid any attention to me in the dark. I could have driven home - I had a car, after all - but the walk was calming and gas was expensive.

Perhaps dying my hair scarlet was a bad idea: it attracted too much attention. We didn't want to attract too much attention. Yet. Our little baby rebellion group was still taking its first few tentative steps. One itty bitty balls-up would see us all dead without even achieving anything.

The apartment was dimly lit when I got in. It was late, after all. I was surprised to see Sunny lying down on the sofa, her little sister, Hope, in her arms. I mean, I knew that the two of them were all alone after their parents had been killed by Dracs, but did they really need to crash at ours so often? I presumed that Kobra would have fed them, too - he was such a sucker. I didn't work ten hours a day, five days a week to feed scroungers. Even if those scroungers were a drop-dead gorgeous nineteen-year-old girl and her adorable eight-year-old sister.

Sunny stirred under my gaze, and blearily opened her eyes, as green as the grass that used to grow here once. Well, grass still grew in the centre of Battery City, where all the rich fuckers lived. It was just us lower-class shmucks that were left with the droughts, the hunger, the backlashes of the atomic warfare way out in the desert. This was the area that outlaws and exiles looted. In short, it wasn't a very nice neighbourhood.

"Poison? That you?" She yawned, struggling to sit up without disturbing Hope. Eventually, she managed it, and stood up. Hope continued to slumber peacefully.

"Uh-huh. It's me. Where are the others?"

"Jet and Kobra are in bed. Ghoul just left for his night shift."

"Cool. It's kind of late. You want me to walk you home?" I waited impatiently for the excuse this time: their water had been cut off, she didn't want to wake Hope, there had been news of bandits and she didn't feel safe, etc.

Instead, though, she put a hand to her face and, with difficulty, supressed a sob. I was surprised, but at the same time noticed the light from a dirty yellow street lamp outside dancing on her hair. Sunshine golden, falling in glossy waves. When Kobra had suggested her Killjoy name, Adrenaline Sunshine, he'd picked perfectly. She was forever optimistic and eternally energetic. It was really weird, then, to see her... broken. That was the only word to describe it.

"What's up?" I asked, taking a step forwards. I could smell her perfume; I wondered how she's managed to get her hands on perfume. I half-raised a hand to place it on her shoulder, then lowered it again to my side and clenched it into a fist.

"Our house has been taken over by Dracs. I just fled, with Hope. If they'd found us squatting in that house... we were supposed to get out as soon as they killed our parents, but I didn't know where to go... Kobra said we could stay here for a few days, until we found our feet. I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" I asked, confused.

She looked up, tears clinging to her spiders'-legs eyelashes like miniature diamonds. "I know that I'm nothing but a nuisance to you. I'm just a girl who was in the year below your little brother in school and made friends with him. I don't mean to sponge hospitality and stuff off you, I just have nowhere else to go and no-one else to ask for help. I need to think of Hope."

I was still shuddering at the thought of what the Dracs would have done if they'd found Sunny, defenseless, in that house. You heard such horrific stories... but her words recalled me to the present. "You did the right thing. I wouldn't be much of a man if I let a woman and a child sleep on the streets, especially with the Dracs swarming the place," I said.

"I can't get a proper job because I'm a girl, but I will earn our keep," she promised. "I'll clean the apartment for you, and cook."

"That'd be good," I joked feebly, "this place is an absolute pigsty, and none of us guys can cook."

"Well, at least I'll be useful, then," she said, smiling slightly. Then she yawned, and muttered, "I'm keeping you up. I should get to sleep, and so should you."

We both looked at Hope, who had sprawled across the sofa. Sunny bent over her and tried to gently coax her to roll over, but the little girl was having none of it.

"There's not enough room for both of you on there. Do you want my bed?" I asked. Then I added hurriedly, "I mean, I'd sleep on the floor, of course." Shit, I was a grown man of twenty-four years old. I knew things. So why did I suddenley turn into an embarassed teenager at the mere thought of Sunny sharing a bed with me?

"I'm cool with the floor - I should probably stay near Hope. She might get scared waking up in a new place," Sunny said. "I wouldn't mind a blanket, though."

"Hang on," I muttered, striding out. When I returned a minute later with a mat, a sleeping bag, a blanket and a pillow, she'd changed into a thin, yellow, cotton nightdress. I noticed a suitcase, clearly hurriedly packed, open in the corner, clothes, toothbrushes and books spilling out of it.

Sunny set up her mat and sleeping bag while I draped the blanket around Hope. She looked so peaceful and innocent when she was asleep. I prayed that Sunny would keep Hope's heart good, and not let her become corrupted by the teaching in the Battery City schools. I straightened up, resisting the urge to run a hand over her curls.

"Thank you," murmured Sunny. I looked at her, wondering what I should do now. She stood in the middle of the room awkwardly, as if she was wondering the same thing. Should I hug her? No, definitely not. Shake her hand? That would be weird. In the end, I just forced an awkward smile and nodded at her.

"Goodnight," I whispered.

She smiled. The nightdress must have been a size too small - it clung to her. "Goodnight, Poison," she whispered back.

I turned and left. Party Poison. What a name. Living with my little brother - The Kobra Kid - and our two good friends, Jet Starr and Fun Ghoul. And now, apparantly, Adrenaline Sunshine and Hope. I wondered if we would give Hope a Killjoy name soon, now she was one of the gang properly.


	2. Chapter 2

I was awoken in the morning to the smell of bacon and the sound of laughter, which was new and also kind of nice. After washing as best I could in my ration of water and dressing, I made my way into the communal area.

Sunny was in the kitchenette, her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail, frying up breakfast. Hope, Ghoul and Kobra sat at the table; Jet stood next to Sunny, buttering toast.

"Morning, Poison!" Hope said excitedly, beaming at me as though all her birthdays and Christmases had come at once. "We can eat now you're up!"

"Take a seat and help yourself to coffee," Sunny said, every inch the hostess. I followed her instructions, however, noting that the table was free of clutter and had been wiped clean for the first time since I could remember.

"So what do you actually DO?" Hope asked Ghoul. "Like, at night, when you work?"

"Oh, I'm just a guard at the android factory. I watch it at night, make sure that nobody breaks in. It's really nothing that interesting, kiddo," Ghoul answered.

"What kind of android?" Hope pressed.

Kobra snorted. Jet laughed out loud. Ghoul turned a vivid crimson. I almost choked on my coffee, and had to suppress a laugh myself. Sunny was horrified, and said quickly, "don't ask too many questions, Hope. Grub's up!"

We all sat down and began to devour eggs, bacon and toast. Food I'd paid for, obviously, but in that moment I didn't care. I was ravenous; it had been days since I'd had proper food, food that wasn't dehydrated and packaged in silver foil.

I wondered if Sunny was offended by the idea of Ghoul working for the android factory that he did, even if he wasn't directly involved. After all, quite a lot of women were, and it wasn't difficult to see why. Fem-bots, sex-bots, whatever you called them: women robots specifically designed to 'satisfy' a male audience. Due to all of the droughts, famines, nuclear explosions and the like, the population had been hard hit. Weirdly, the female population had been the hardest hit. A living human woman was a hot commodity, which was probably why only high up officials and rich men living in the centre were married. Still, why bother with girls when you had fem-bots? Ready for hire, whether it's for an hour or several. Richer men bought them for years, making them clean and wash too. It was offensive, of course it was, but what else were we supposed to do? In my year at school, there had been thirty males and eighteen females. It's the opposite of the imbalance we were always used to.

Only Jet was aware of this little... secret... but a year previously I had finally succumbed to everything and spent a portion of my wages on a fem-bot, hiring it for two hours. As amazing as it was at the time, I did feel weird and quite dirty afterwards.

That wasn't to say I'd never slept with a human girl - of course I had - but those experiences were few and far between as most were married off to centre-dwellers at an early age. It was a miracle that Sunny hadn't been caught yet.

But I didn't want to think about that.

"What do you do? For jobs?" Hope asked Jet, Kobra and I, more excited than I had seen her in a long time. The kid was practically bouncing in her seat.

"I work in the lazer gun factory. I make sure the machines are all working and I check up on workers - I'm like the manager, I guess," Jet said, shovelling bacon into his mouth.

Hope's eyes widened. "Cool! Do you get free guns?"

"Sure do," Jet told her, grinning widely.

"Can you get me a gun?"

Sunny gasped, shocked, but Jet just laughed. "I'll get you one for your twenty-first birthday, how does that sound?"

"That's ages away!" Hope groaned.

"Poison and I work as car mechanics; we own our own garage," Kobra said quickly, to distract her.

This, however, seemed to work the opposite way. She bounced up and down a little bit more, then said, "can you take me into work today with you? I want to see how cars work!"

"Not today, Honey; you have school," Sunny shot in breezily, standing up. "Go and brush your teeth and then I'll walk you over."

Hope, after shooting her big sister an injured look, jumped up and raced off to the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Go easy on the water, Kiddo, don't leave the tap running!" I called after her.

"Ok, Poison!" She yelled back.

Sunny began to throw the paper plates from breakfast into the trash. It was particularly helping the already screwed environment, but washing up was basically impossible with the lack of water. I stood up to help her, but she waved me away.

"You all work. This is the least I can do," she said. Then she sighed heavily. "I used to have a job, you know - I was a secratary to an accountant and training to be an accountant myself. Then... well, all those new rules came in. I wasn't allowed to train any more. At least I get money from the government, though."

"That's something, at least," Kobra muttered.

She shrugged. "It's a single allowance; it gets stopped when I'm twenty-five unless I'm married, did you know that? They need to encourage women to repopulate."

The four of us exchanged awkward glances, unsure of what to say, and were all grateful when Hope charged back in, curls flying about haphazardly and backpack on.

"I'm off to bed, then. I'll be up when you get back from school, Hope," Ghoul said, standing up and stretching. He ruffled Hope's curls, smiled at Sunny, and strode off into the room he shared with Jet.

"Do I really have to go to school?" Hope whined, sticking out her bottom lip.

"Sure you do!" I said, "you need to learn stuff." What she needed to learn, if she was going to end up in the same situation as Sunny, I wasn't sure. Keeping her from school, however, might alert them to something being amiss. It wasn't good to arouse any attention.

"Come on, Honey, school isn't so bad," Sunny cajoled, rubbing Hope's arm. "They give you a free lunch there, now, don't they? There's always positives."

Hope didn't look convinced.

"I'll walk her," Jet said, standing up and pulling his jacket on. "It's on my way into work anyway. Does that sound good, Honey?" I'd never heard Jet call anyone "Honey" in my life, but the endearment rolled off his tongue as naturally as any other word. Hope, in response to his suggestion, practically combusted with excitement. Sunny, too, seemed delighted, and gave Jet such a huge grin that anyone would think he'd made her week.

"Would you? That'd be amazing!" She exclaimed.

He smiled at her, then winked at Hope. "Anything for a pretty face."

Hope giggled and let him take her hand. They got three steps closer to the door before Sunny had stopped them. She hugged Hope tightly, kissed her forehead and zipped up her jacket. "You stay really close to Jet and listen to him, OK? And don't leave school tonight until one of us is there to pick you up."

"Yes, Sunny," Hope sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I love you," Sunny said earnestly, hugging her again.

Hope, instead of squirming as I'd expected, hugged Sunny back tightly. "I love you too, Sis."

Sunny straightened up and saw the pair of them out of the door. As she watched them hop down the stairs together, still holding hands, I saw her laugh slightly with them. That said, the worry still hadn't completely faded from her face. I wondered, for the first time, what kind of demands were expected of the teenage girl, raising her sister in such a hostile new world.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Reviews would be greatly appreciated. This is the first thing I've written and I'd love some constructive criticism so that I can improve in the future. Thank you!**

I walked home with Kobra that night. That action was unusual in itself - I usually stayed on later to do paperwork and other things - but what was even more unusual was the conversation I chose to undertake.

"Are you sure we should be having this conversation out in the open?" He asked, looking around worriedly.

I moved closer and lowered my voice. "Nobody's listening. It's important, anyway. We've decided that we hate this place and we need to make a change. We've saved enough money and the car's almost finished. I think that in a few days we could be out of here. I'm sick of making plans and never acting on them." Truthfully, our plans were not terribly intricate: drive out into the desert in the car and become outlaws; find Dr. Death at his pirate, rebel radio station and sign up to whatever he has going at the time; kill as many Dracs as possible.

Ah, Dracs. Draculoids. The henchmen of Korse, the one who wanted to exterminate all rebels against the government. Well, his plan had already worked with the homeless and the criminals - the 'undesirables' of society - so why not the ones who opposed him, too? The guy was a complete and utter power freak. He was the one who'd given the orders for Sunny and Hope's parents to be killed. All because they'd been found listening to one of Dr. Death's political rants over the pirate radio station. Well, when you listen to the first outlaw, Public Enemy Number 1, the man with thousands of dollars on his head, you have to expect some consequences when you're found.

"Maybe you're right, but I want to make sure that Hope and Sunny are settled before we leave," Kobra said. "She's a really good friend, Poison, and I don't want to just abandon her."

"I understand that. We could leave them the apartment, you know; I wouldn't throw them out onto the streets."

"It's not just the apartment! They're so... vulnerable." He sighed, and muttered, "she was Jess's friend, too. They were pretty much best friends."

So that was it. Kobra's face had taken on that pinched, tight look that it always did when he spoke about Jess. They'd been close, at one point - childhood sweetheart's, I guess you could say - but when everything had started Jess's rich parents had moved her to the centre of Battery City. They'd kept in touch through letters, but after a few months Jess had suddenley stopped writing. She'd probably been married off to some lecherous businessman, but nobody wanted to say this out loud.

"She'll be fine," I said quietly.

Kobra pursed his lips. "I don't want to talk about it." There was a long, awkward pause, then he said, "you won't let them come with us into the desert." It wasn't a question, more a flat statement.

"Of course!" I snapped, exasperated. "The desert isn't the right place for a nine-year-old girl, Kobra: you must know that."

He looked down, letting his hair form a curtain between us. "I can't help worrying about them, Poison," he muttered.

"I know," I said. And, truly, I did.


	4. Chapter 4

The apartment had more life in it than ever. After only a week living with us, Sunny and Hope had breathed more energy and optimism into the place than I had ever felt before.

They were dancing. Or, rather, they were jumping about the place and singing along to the rock music with so much crazy, uncoordinated enthusiasm that I couldn't help but smile. Sunny caught Hope's hands and spun the little girl around, laughing. Looking at them, you would never think that they had both survived a terrible disaster and been orphaned less than two years ago. You'd think that they were just normal kids, being a bit stupid and having fun.

When I shut the door behind me, they turned and grinned broadly in unison. Hope ran towards me, and I pulled her up into my arms, spinning around with her to the music. She squealed with delight and surprise - usually, she got a hi-5 if she was lucky. But I was feeling good that day. Better than good - I was feeling alive.

"Someone's happy!" Sunny shouted over the music, smiling. I wondered why the neighbours hadn't complained yet, and then realised that I hadn't seen who lived in the apartment below us for months.

"That I am," I said, setting Hope back down on the floor. "I just finished off my car - I think it should be good to drive tomorrow."

Hope clapped her hands in delight, still twirling to herself. Sunny's face fell slightly; she knew, or guessed, what this would probably mean.

"Well, this has been me, Dr. Death Defying, for your daily fix of real music," the radio said from the table. The radio which now shone. In fact, everything in the apartment shone, as though it was filled with sunlight, and the air in it tasted sweeter and cleaner. "Keep yourselves safe, all you Killjoys of the regime, but never let them take you alive. To play us out, I think we deserve a little The Mad Gear. Enjoy!"

Sunny turned the radio off.

"Aw, Sunny!" Hope groaned.

"No, Hope; they have too many bad words in their songs for a seven-year-old. Why don't you go and do your homework? Ghoul and Jet's room is free if you want to do it in there, but don't snoop around in their stuff," Sunny said.

"I don't snoop!" Hope said proudly. Then she muttered, "I hate homework. We're learning about how BL/Ind made health care better when they started ruling. Can't you help?"

Sunny folded her arms. "All I know is that the last time I went to the doctor he offered me a free boob job to help me find a husband - cheeky fucker."

"Who was it who just turned off the radio station because a song had profanity?" I teased. When Sunny stuck her tongue out at me, I said to Hope, "do what your sister says and go do your homework, Kiddo."

She gave me a reproachful look, but grabbed her backpack and marched into the bedroom, shutting the door loudly behind her.

"What do you want for dinner?" Sunny asked absentmindedly, peering through the blinds out the window with a worried face.

"You do too much for us. Take a rest tonight; we'll cook for you," I said.

"You've been working all day," she argued, but her heart wasn't really in it.

"We'll order out, then - Hope'll like that."

"Yeah, she will," she said, her face creasing slightly as she continued to stare out of the window.

I took a step closer to her, to stand next to her so that we were looking out of the window together. Our skin was just a hair's breadth away. I could almost feel hers, smooth and soft, against mine. Almost.

"What are you looking so worried about?" I asked her, trying to keep my voice even.

"Those Dracs," she murmured, facing dead ahead. "This is going to sound really paranoid, but I swear that they've been watching us for the past three days straight. I went out to the store to pick up some supplies today... even under their masks, I swear they were looking at me."

"Are you sure?" I asked. This was a new development, and it wasn't one that I particularly liked.

She nodded, finally turning to look at me with those piercing, vivid eyes. "They seem more interested in you and the other guys; their numbers always increase when you're around. I think... I think they know what you're planning, Poison."

"They can't."

"Well, they do. I'm sure of it. I don't know how, but they do."

"Have you been talking to anyone?" I snapped.

She gasped, disgusted by the question, and shot back, "who would I talk to? I don't have anyone but you guys and Hope, remember?"

By this point, I was panicking - what if we got shut down before we'd even begun? There was only option that I could see, so later that night, when were all sharing ice-cream around the table (which Ghoul had bought on the black market for Hope) I broached the subject.

"I think that we should go away for a while," I said, "into the desert. There are Dracs watching the apartment, and I think that we should just speed up our plans a little."

"When we you thinking of leaving?" Jet asked, looking excited at the prospect of finally doing something.

I swallowed. "Tonight."

I was met by five pairs of shocked eyes. "At such short notice?" Kobra asked.

"Yes, tonight. I've been planning it for a while. The car is ready, I've been stockpiling supplies in the garage: desert-appropriate clothes, tent, sleeping bags, food supplies, ray-guns and a radio. We'll be cool. And, um," I looked directly at Kobra, trying to convey the message that I cared about them as much as he did, "I've transferred the apartment into Sunny's name. Sunny and Hope can live here for as long as they like and not be bothered by anyone. I've left them some money, too - I've been saving for long enough."

"You mean, we're not coming with you?" Hope asked, her voice small and on the verge of tears. "I want to go with you!"

Shit. I had not been prepared for this at all. I couldn't think of what to say to her, how to comfort or reassure her. Suddenly, I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay with Sunny and Hope, living in this crappy apartment. We could be some form of dysfunctional family. Maybe.

But no. I had to do this. I had to fight against all of this, and I knew that the rest of the guys felt the same way. I also knew that where we were going, and what we were going to be doing, was in no way appropriate for Hope.

"It's not safe for you, Kiddo; you have to wait until you're older," Jet explained to her, sounding as though he was about to burst into tears too.

"We'll come back and visit," Ghoul promised.

Kobra, to my surprise, didn't argue. "Yeah, we will, Hope. You know, you need to stay behind and look after Sunny for us. That's an important job." This, more than anything, seemed to be what swayed Hope. She nodded and her eyes took on a determined look.

The Sunny in question had been strangely quiet throughout the conversation, and had instead moved back over to the window. She gave a startled, sudden gasp, and turned back towards us with a chalk-white face.

"They're moving," she said, her voice choked, "they're coming right towards the apartment block. They must be coming for you."


	5. Chapter 5

Within seconds, we'd all jumped up and were standing, frozen, as if we'd just stepped into a nightmare and couldn't figure out what to do. We couldn't figure out what to do, and everyone was looking at me as though they expected me to morph into some sort of fucking action hero.

"Guys, if you want to grab anything important for your rooms, you have exactly ten seconds," I said. "We'll sneak out the window and down the fire escape, then run to the business - the trunk of the car is stocked up with enough provisions to last us at least three weeks in the desert, but we have to be quick. Go!"

They rushed into the bedrooms, hurriedly tearing things apart. I snatched my driving gloves off the kitchen side, and my wallet. I shoved on my boots, tugged on my blue leather jacket and finally risked a look at Sunny, who was standing by the front door, her arm around Hope's shoudlers. We stood, staring at each other, as the others came running back through. We could hear Drac footsteps on the stairs, every tread ominous.

"Go!" Sunny hissed. "I'll occupy them for as long as possible. Hope, go into one of the bedrooms and shut the door. Don't come out until I tell you."

Hope, after mouthing a goodbye and waving childishly at us, did as she was told, hurriedly. I tried to imagine how scared the little girl must have been.

Jet pulled up the back window, saluted Sunny and ducked out of it, landing on the highest fire escape ledge. Ghoul, very gentlemanly as was his nature, kissed Sunny's hand and followed Jet.

Kobra, by this point, was visibly sniffing back tears. He hugged Sunny briefly but tightly. The Drac footsteps were getting louder. I pushed Kobra in the back. "Get out of here! Start running!" I ordered. He jumped out of the window agilely, seemingly unable to speak.

"Will I ever see you again?" Sunny whispered. The Drac footsteps were almost defeaning. They seemed matched in volume only by my own heartbeat, which was pounding in my ears.

"I don't know," I admitted. My arms ached, burned, suddenley, to hold her and fall out of the window with her. I wanted to run away with her. But I couldn't. I couldn't put her in danger. She could talk her way out of this, but if she ran... they would kill her. I couldn't have that on my conscience.

Could I live with leaving her behind?

I was kissing her before I knew what I was doing. Her wiry, athletic, energetic body shook next to mine, with fear and something else. Her lips blistered mine. Her breath was sweet and cool after the ice-cream, soothing my charred mouth. I breathed her name unthinkingly. Her fingers tangled in my hair, holding my face to hers.

The knock on the door shook both of us: it was violent and disruptive. Sunny pressed her cheek to mine to whisper in my ear, "go. We'll be fine. Be safe, Poison."

"You too," I said, swinging out of the window as the door knocked again.

I was rushing down the escape as I heard Sunny's voice carrying on the still air. She'd forgotten to close the window.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?"..."No, no, only my sister and I are in right now. Can I take a message for the guys?"... "Yes, I said, they're not in." There wasn't a tremor in her tone. The girl was brave, braver than I'd ever given her credit for before.

If I could turn back time, if I'd known, I would have turned back right then. But I can't, and I didn't. I was a young man, feeling immortal, pulling out his ray-gun to deal with the Dracs who'd been sent around the back to make sure we didn't get away, cheering at the top of his voice with the adrenaline rush.


	6. Chapter 6

"I was thinking that we could maybe go back and visit Hope and Sunny sometime soon," Jet ventured, four months later, as we drove to Dr. Death Defying's current camp out, in some abandoned building or other. A lot had changed in four months. We were no longer wannabes, dreamers. We were living the life of true Killjoys. Most of the time, it was amazing - killing Dracs, running away, playing music deafeningly loud, helping those we could...

It all turned to shit, though, as soon as someone mentioned Sunny and Hope.

"I agree with that," Kobra said, apparently oblivious as to how much I didn't want to have that conversation. "I worry about them."

"Do you think that I don't?" I snapped.

Ghoul sighed and reached over, turning off the radio in the car. Clearly, he thought this a confrontation worth having, and he didn't think that a lot. "It might put all of our minds at rest, and Sunny's too. I'll bet that she's worrying about us just as much."

"Have you thought about how we're going to visit?" I asked, not letting myself imagine what it would feel like to see them again. "There are posters of our faces all over Battery City. Korse wants us dead, and if anyone sees us visiting them it'll put them in danger."

"We could do it first thing in the morning, while it's still dark, and there's barely any Dracs about," Ghoul suggested, his face thoughtful. "It's possible if we really put our mind to it and didn't take the car."

"It'll be so cool to see Hope's face again," Kobra said, "she'll have turned nine by now - it was her birthday last month."

"Should we take her a present?" Jet asked seriously. "I'll bet she'd love her own little radio, she's a kid into music... and she's always wanted a leather jacket, too, think how cool she'd look in one of them."

"We haven't even decided we're going to visit yet," I reminded them, although it was difficult not to get swept away into my own fantasies. Thankfully, at that moment Dr. Death's camp rolled up, so it was easy to drag myself back into reality. "We'll talk about this later," I promised, parking the car up.

"You heard about these pills?" Show Pony asked as he showed us into Dr. Death's room. Dr. Death himself was sat in his wheelchair at the table, a microphone in front of him.

"What pills?" Jet asked.

Show Pony's eyes lit up - he loved giving us information on life back in Battery City. "There're these pills, right, you can take them and they make you feel happy. Better Living Industries have designed them."

"Control devices," Dr. Death said gravely, "for the masses. Why bother listening to music or reading a book or making art in any form - basically, doing anything that could lead to rebellious thoughts - when you can just pop a pill and feel the same pleasure? Sure, they're happy, but at what cost?"

The four of us exchanged looks as we sat down at the table. Show Pony hurried around, fetching us bottles of ice-cold water, which was great after the scorching drive.

"I hope they aren't giving Sunny and Hope those things - it'd be horrible to see them all doped up and blank when we go back to visit," Kobra muttered.

Ghoul and Jet nodded in agreement, their faces downcast, but I couldn't even move - the idea of Sunny's bright green eyes being clouded over with pills was torturing me.

"Sunny?" Dr. Death asked sharply, "what's her full name?"

"Adrenaline Sunshine," Jet said.

Dr. Death sighed. Show Pony, in the corner, looked awkward.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He looked at me and pressed his forefinger onto a magazine lying face-up on the table. It wasn't one of the ones that we usually read; it was one of the ones they usually sold in Battery City. I didn't move. I was too scared of what I might find.

In the end, Ghoul picked up the magazine. "Turn to page 3," Dr. Death told him, "I'm sorry in advance for what you're going to read."

"Korse, patroller of the deserts and keeper of law and order, is delighted to announce his wedding. As of three days ago, Korse is married to Adrenaline Sunshine, an orphan from the outskirts of Battery City," Ghoul read aloud, his voice flat. "The couple do not plan to honeymoon as Korse is too dedicated to you, the people of Battery City, whom it is his duty to protect from the outlaws, in particular the Killjoys."

Jet gasped in horror; Kobra cursed under his breath. I couldn't even react. My fists clenched together, shaking, the knuckles turning white.

"What about the girl, Hope?" Show Pony asked.

"In an act of benevolence, Korse has adopted Adrenaline Sunshine's nine-year-old sister, Hope, and intends to raise the child as his own," Ghoul read out.

"They'll have known that we were friends with them," Jet whispered, "Korse'll have done this to get at us."

I stood up, sending my chair flying back across the room. Then, before I could even think about what I was doing, I'd snatched the magazine out of Ghoul's hands and torn it up into tiny pieces, throwing them across the room.

"I think it worked," Kobra muttered.

I could barely hear him. This was my fault. I'd left them behind... I'd left them in that vulnerable state. They'd been forced, or brainwashed, or something. She couldn't have agreed to this under her own free will. Not Sunny. Could she? No. No, she couldn't. But wouldn't that be preferable? That she wanted that life? Did I really want her to be miserable, so that I could make-believe that we could have a fairy tale ending some day?

There weren't any fairy tale endings any more.

"We're going," I said. "We're visiting Sunny and Hope. Tonight."

"Yes!" Ghoul grinned, jumping up. "Let's go!"

"Good luck, boys," Dr. Death said. "I presume that this is a mission you want to go for yourselves, but if you need any help, we're always there."

"Thank you," Jet said as I marched out, leading the group.

"It's just a shame that it took THIS to make you come to your senses about leaving them behind," Kobra muttered to my side.

I didn't answer. The worst thing about the cutting statement, of course, was that it was true.


	7. Chapter 7

Korse's house was easy to find - it was on the outskirts of the city, so that he was close to the desert action, but it was much more luxurious than any of the rest: three-storeyed, an outdoor pool, lots of Dracs milling about outside as guards.

It was dark when we finally decided to attack. We'd been watching the house for at least an hour. Oddly, for once, it had been I who'd wanted to storm the house instantly, unthinkingly, and the others who had held me back. We'd seen Sunny and Hope just once, through a window on the second storey. We'd discerned which rooms were theirs.

The Dracs guarding the front were easy to take out from our hiding place. Ghoul kicked the front door down simple as pie, then we were in. Kobra and I stormed up the stairs while Jet and Ghoul battled with the remaining Dracs, who seemed to swarm through the house as alarm bells rung.

"POISON! KOBRA!" Hope screamed as we opened her door. She ran forwards and fell into my arms as I automatically knelt down. I hugged her tightly, unable to rejoice yet, and straightened up. She hugged Kobra, and then he took her hand in a vice-like grip.

"Take her down to the car. Keep her safe," I ordered. "I'll get Sunny and follow you out."

Hope was grinning so widely I wondered if it didn't hurt. She happily sprinted off with Kobra, fully trusting me to save her sister.

I kicked down the door to the master bedroom. Sunny, who was sat at a dressing table in a light blue summer dress, spun around, her eyes with fear. "Poison!" She gasped, standing up when she recognised me. Her eyes, her beautiful green eyes, were as clear and perceptive as ever. She looked perfect, apart from the slight discolouration around her right eye and the finger-print bruises up and down the upper parts of her arms. Rage coursed through me.

She rushed over and fell into my arms. "Have you really come back for me?" She asked.

"I was an idiot to leave you," I replied, letting my trembling fingers stroke her soft hair.

She burst into tears. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to. He said that he'd kill Hope if I didn't."

"It's OK," I reassured her, lying through my teeth. It wasn't OK. As I traced my hands over her soft, smooth skin, all I could think of was his hands being in the same places. Bile rose in my throat. "Let's go, Sunny," I murmured.

"But I'm not finished yet," a harsh, male voice spat at us from across the room. I looked over Sunny's head to see Korse standing in the centre of the room, apparantly having appeared from thin air. He drew a ray-gun from his side, smiling slowly.

Too slowly. In a flash, Sunny had reached into my pocket, pulled out my ray-gun and spun around, shooting wildly. Korse fell to the floor, clutching his foot and howling in pain. He dropped his gun, which I hurriedly rushed over and picked up. Sunny had clipped him merely - with proper medical attention, he wouldn't die.

She levelled the ray-gun at his head, shaking slightly.

"I don't blame you for wanting her, Party Poison," Korse said, smiling maliciously at Sunny. "She's very good at lying there with her legs parted, this one."

"SHUT UP!" Sunny screamed, tears in her eyes. "I'll shoot, I swear; I'll kill you, you bastard!"

"I've ruined her for you, though," Korse continued, not taking her seriously. "She's dirty, now, this one - used."

"The lady told you to shut up," I spat, pointing the other ray-gun at him, my eyes narrowing. "I suggest that you listen to her if you value your life at all."

"I'll get the kid back, you know. She's my legal daughter now. I'm going to bring her up to love Better Living Industries. She's going to be the face of so many things. You just wait." Korse spat.

With a huge swing of her arm, Sunny hit Korse square in the face with her ray-gun. Knocked out cold, he slumped backwards onto the floor. She stood, shocked at her own actions, rooted to the spot, until I grabbed her hand. She dropped the ray-gun and we ran together out of the room and along the corridor, finding the stairs. The bodies of Dracs littered the way.

As we sprinted down the stairs, her soft hand still in my dirty, rough one, she turned her face towards me and asked, panting, "am I really ruined, now, Poison?"

Stupidly, I paused at the bottom of the stairs and put my hands on either side of her face, forcing those green eyes to look straight at me. "Don't you ever listen to scum like Korse, Sunny; you're worth so much more than that. You're not ruined," I told her, with so much force in my voice that it took both of us by surprise.

"We... we kissed," Sunny whispered. "We kissed before you ran. Was that just a... was it just a spontaneous thing for you?"

Before I could find my voice, she'd gasped and crumpled down to the floor. I turned my head to see Korse stood at the top of the stairs, a smouldering ray-gun - my ray-gun - in his hand.

"Now you can't even have my sloppy seconds, Party Poison," Korse grinned with a mixture of malice, triumph and, from somewhere deep down, jealousy.

With a howl of rage and grief, I pulled out my own ray-gun and fired at it him wildly. He ducked behind a wall. I didn't see where he went after that. For that moment, I didn't care, because Sunny let out another gasp at my feet. I dropped to my knees beside her, pulling her onto my lap and cradling her in my arms. Her eyelashes fluttered and her body convulsed slightly.

"It wasn't just a spontaneous thing," I said hurriedly. "I've missed you, so much, I - "

"Stop," she said, raising a weak hand to brush my lips. "Wait, Poison. Promise me one thing - don't let him get Hope. Please. Look after her. Don't let him..." her arm fell back again, and her face screwed up in pain.

"I will protect that girl with my life," I promised. "I won't let anything hurt her."

"You're a good man, Poison," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "You know, I've had such a huge crush on you from the first time I met you, when Kobra invited me over for dinner almost two years ago. Crazy, isn't it?"

"Don't go," I begged, holding her closer. "Please, Sunny, don't leave me."

"Kiss me," she demanded, her voice now very faint. "I don't want to die with him being the last man I've kissed." I lowered my face to hers and pressed my lips very gently against her mouth. She was unresponsive, her breaths coming in little ragged gasps. "Thank you," she whispered when I drew away. "You know, Poison, I said 'huge crush'... to tell the truth, I think that I was a little bit in love with you."

Her chest stopped heaving up and down, and the ivory blinds of her eyelids fell, closing me off from those grass-green eyes.

"NO!" I yelled, pulling her face up to mine. "No, Sunny, listen to me. I love you too, fuck, Sunny, I love you more than anything. Come back to me, don't you fucking leave me. Sunny. SUNNY!" I laid her down on the floor and began pushing down on her chest frantically, trying to get her heart beating again. "Please hear me, Sunny: I love you. Don't go, please!"

I don't know how long I was there, working over Sunny so desperately. Eventually, though, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Poison. We need to go," Ghoul said quietly. "They'll have radioed for back-up, and we need to get Hope somewhere safe."

Hope. From somewhere deep down under the senseless grief, I recalled my promise to the corpse on the floor. "I..I.." I couldn't find words.

"We have to go, now. We can't risk them coming in here to find us. We don't want them seeing this," he said. This. Sunny had become a this.

I stood up and looked at him. His face was grave, his eyes slightly watery and unfocused. I couldn't even react. I felt... I didn't know.

I'd failed her. I'd abandoned her and I'd let her be... I'd let her be raped and murdered. It was all because of me. All of it. Everything. She was broken and dead because of me.

I let Ghoul pull me away and shove me into the back of the car. For once, he drove instead of me. Jet sat in the passenger seat. Kobra sat opposite me on the back seat, Hope in between us. She looked straight at me. For the first time, I noticed that she had the same shape of face as Sunny, and the same nose.

"Where's Sunny?" She asked. "You haven't left her behind again, have you?"

"I'm sorry, Hope. I couldn't save her." My throat was dry, my heart was aching. Everywhere ached. I wanted to throw up.

The little girl shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes, as the car began to drive away into the desert. "No, no, she's not dead. She's not dead, is she, Poison?"

"I'm sorry," I repeated, unable to say anything else.

"But I love her," Hope said, as if this would change anything.

"She's away from this place, now, with your mom and dad," Kobra said. "She's happy."

"She wouldn't want you to be sad," Jet added.

"We'll look after you now, Hope," Ghoul promised.

I put my arms around the little girl and pulled her closer to me. She began to sob onto my chest. I like to think that what I said next comforted her the most. "I love her too, Hope. I know how much this hurts. But we'll get through it, together," I whispered, moving my head so that the words were just for her.


	8. Chapter 8

Korse issued a statement. Party Poison had led a gang of Killjoys into his home, murdered his new wife and kidnapped his adopted daughter. He would get Hope back and destroy Party Poison, whatever it took. The Wanted posters, bearing our faces, were tripled throughout Battery City. We're even more famous now.

Dr. Death, very much taken with the little girl, gave Hope her own little tent, sleeping bag, ground mat, pillow and blanket so that she could join us on our desert camping lifestyle. We're never letting her out of sight again.

I'm keeping my promise to Sunny.

And to Korse, if he's reading:

I'd like to see you fucking try.


End file.
